The new owner of a backyard birding franchise on Plymouth Road plans changes that include an online retail component as she assumes the reins of the nearly 15-year-old store and looks to boost revenue.

Lisa Haanpaa, a former project manager for a nonprofit Internet collaborative, took over the Wild Bird Center store at the Traver Village Shopping Center Aug. 1. She has owned a franchise location in Brighton since April 2007.

“We’ve already started some changes,” Haanpaa said. “Most of it is structural changes. Some of it is product changes.”

Lisa Haanpaa, new owner of Wild Bird Centers in Ann Arbor, plans to expand the store's inventory to carry more backyard birding supplies.

Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com

Where previous owner Wayne Baker had skewed his inventory toward gifts, Haanpaa said, “We’ll be bringing in more of the basic backyard birding supplies - more of the feeders, more of the birdbaths.”

Baker, who lives near Manchester, could not be reached but had decided to retire, Haanpaa said. He had opened the store in November 1994 and renewed his franchise agreement for 10 years in 2007.

Bird watching is said to be the second most popular hobby in the U.S. behind gardening, with some estimates indicating as many as 63 million Americans watch and feed birds in their yards.

Birders spent an estimated $32 billion on the sport in 2001, according to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service survey that also included data on people who travel to watch birds.

At Wild Birds Unlimited on South Main Street in Ann Arbor, co-owner Sheryl Mitchell says the poor economy is keeping more people in their homes and eager for something to watch from the window. There’s also a growing awareness of habitat loss for animals, she said.

“I think people are becoming a little more nature conscious and environment-conscious,” said Mitchell, who bought that store with her husband David nearly three years ago. “I think that’s what pulls people into it.”

At the Wild Bird Center store, Haanpaa said she plans to change some of the store’s aging and hand-made fixtures, move the cash-register stand and install new flooring. She also plans new advertising and marketing campaigns to increase the store’s visibility.

Late summer is typically a slow time of year before residents gear up to begin feeding and housing birds through the winter months, Haanpaa said. She hopes to build upon the store’s roughly $250,000 in annual sales, in part by integrating online retail to the store’s Web site later this year.

“In this economy, you don’t need a lot of money to be a backyard birder,” said Haanpaa, 42. “All you need is a little bit of knowledge. You don’t even need that, you can learn as you go.”

Haanpaa said she plans a grand opening in October with a sale, informative lectures and a birds-of-prey demonstration program by the Leslie Science Center.